Container

ABSTRACT

A stackable container includes a surrounding wall that has a plurality of recessed parts and a top open end formed with a flange. The recessed parts are indented respectively from inner surfaces of corners of the surrounding wall and protrude outwardly and respectively from outer surfaces of the corners. The recessed parts have respective outer shoulder surface to abut against the annular flange of another similar container to prevent tight contact between the container and the another similar container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/336,380 (hereinafter referred to as the '380 application) and claims priority of Chinese Application No. 201310403949.1, filed on Sep. 6, 2013. The '380 application, entitled “Automatic Bread Maker Assembly” was filed on Jul 21, 2014 and claims priority of Chinese Application No. 201410128274.9, filed on Apr. 1, 2014.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a container stackable on another container for preventing tight contact therebetween.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

On the market, there are different shapes of containers, such as a pudding cup or a tofu box. A conventional container generally has a base wall and a surrounding wall that extends upwardly from the base wall and that is inclined outwardly from the base wall to a top end of the surrounding wall. The base wall and the surrounding wall cooperatively define a receiving space for receiving items. After manufacture, the conventional containers are stacked together in order to be conveniently stored or transported. For saving storing space, the base wall and the surrounding wall of each of the containers are inserted into the receiving space of another one of the containers. However, such stacking may cause excessively close contact between adjacent containers. Under the environmental atmospheric pressure, the stacked containers may be hard to separate from one another, thereby resulting in inconvenience during use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a container that may alleviate the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a container includes a base wall, a surrounding wall, an annular flange and a plurality of recessed parts. The surrounding wall extends upwardly from the base wall. The base wall and the surrounding wall cooperatively define a receiving space.

The annular flange extends around and projects outwardly from a top open end of the surrounding wall distal from the base wall.

The recessed parts are indented from an inner surface of the surrounding wall in proximity to the annular flange, and protrude outwardly from an outer surface of the surrounding wall.

When the container is stacked on another similar container, the recessed parts of the container are able to abut against the annular flange of another similar container to prevent tight contact between the container and the another similar container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stack of containers including a plurality of container bodies stacked one above the other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each of the container bodies includes a base wall, a surrounding wall, an annular flange and a plurality of recessed parts.

The surrounding wall extends upwardly and is inclined outwardly from the base wall, and has a plurality of corners. The base wall and the surrounding wall cooperatively define a receiving space.

The annular flange extends around and projects outwardly from a top open end of the surrounding wall distal from the base wall.

The recessed parts are indented respectively from inner surfaces of the corners in proximity to the annular flange and protrude outwardly and respectively from outer surfaces of the corners.

The recessed parts of each of the container bodies are seated on the annular flange of a lower one of the container bodies to prevent each of the container bodies from contacting tightly the lower one of the container bodies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a container according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary partly-sectional view illustrating a stack of the containers according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the containers stacked one above the other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a container 4 according to the present invention is illustrated. The container 4 is stackable on another similar container 4. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a stack of the containers 4 are shown and includes a plurality of container bodies 40 stacked one on the other. Each of the container bodies 40 includes a base wall 45, a surrounding wall 47, an annular flange 46, a plurality of recessed parts 49 and a plurality of reinforcement ribs 48 (see FIG. 1).

The surrounding wall 47 extends upwardly and is inclined outwardly from the base wall 45. The surrounding wall 47 has a plurality of corners 470. The base wall 45 and the surrounding wall 47 cooperatively define a receiving space 41 for receiving items (not shown).

The annular flange 46 extends around and projects outwardly from a top open end of the surrounding wall 47 distal from the base wall 45. Specifically, the annular flange 46 has an inclined surface portion 461 and a non-inclined portion 462 extending outwardly from the inclined surface portion 461 in a direction substantially parallel to the base wall 45. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the annular flange 46 of each of the container bodies 40 has the inclined surface portion 461 directly connected to the surrounding wall 47 and inclined downward and toward the receiving space 41.

In order to remove the items (not shown) from the receiving space 41, the container 4 is turned upside down (not shown) so that the annular flange 46 and the top open end of the surrounding wall 47 are disposed below the base wall 45. Since the surrounding wall 47 is inclined relative to the base wall 45, the container 4 is advantageous to ensure that the items are completely removed from the receiving space 41.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the reinforcement ribs 48 of the container body 40 extend upwardly from the base wall 45 to the top open end of the surrounding wall 47 to enhance the structural strength of the container body 40. As such, the base wall 45 and the surrounding wall 47 may not be easily deformed.

The recessed parts 49 of each container body 40 are indented from an inner surface of the surrounding wall 47 in proximity to the annular flange 46 and protrude outwardly from an outer surface of the surrounding wall 47. Specifically, the recessed parts 49 are indented respectively from inner surfaces of the corners 470 in proximity to the annular flange 46 and protrude outwardly and respectively from outer surfaces of the corners 470. Each of the recessed parts 49 has an upstanding wall portion 491 that extends downwardly from the inclined surface portion 461 of the annular flange 46 and that is perpendicular to the base wall 45, and a transverse wall portion 492 that extends inwardly from a bottom end of the upstanding wall 491 toward the receiving space 41. The upstanding wall portion 491 is tapered upwardly. An outer surface of the transverse wall portion 492 is formed with a rounded outer shoulder surface 493 protruding from the outer surface of the surrounding wall 47 to abut against the inclined surface portion 461 of the annular flange 46 of the lower container body 40.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, when the containers 4 of this disclosure are disposed in a stack, the rounded outer shoulder surface 493 of each of the recesses parts 49 of an upper one of the container bodies 40 is seated on the inclined surface portion 461 of the annular flange 46 of a lower one of the container bodies 40. As such, the containers 4 will not tightly contact each other under the environmental atmospheric pressure, thereby avoiding difficult separation of the containers 4. Notwithstanding, the rounded outer shoulder surface 493 of each of the recessed parts 49 of the upper container body 40 need not be necessarily seated on the inclined surface portion 461 of the annular flange 46 of the lower container body 40. In actual implementation, the inner surface of upstanding wall portion 491 of each of the recessed parts 49 may be inclined downwardly and outwardly from the annular flange 46 to the base wall 45, and the rounded outer shoulder surface 493 of the corresponding recesses part 49 can be seated on the non-inclined portion 462 of the annular flange 46 of the lower container body 40 to avoid tight contact therebetween.

To sum up, since the recessed parts 49 of each of the container bodies 40 are seated on the annular flange 46 of the lower container body 40, each of the container bodies 40 is prevented from contacting tightly the other container bodies 40 when they are stacked together.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A container stackable on another similar container, the container comprising: a base wall; a surrounding wall extending upwardly from said base wall, said base wall and said surrounding wall cooperatively defining a receiving space; an annular flange extending around and projecting outwardly from a top open end of said surrounding wall distal from said base wall; and a plurality of recessed parts indented from an inner surface of said surrounding wall in proximity to said annular flange, and protruding outwardly from an outer surface of said surrounding wall, wherein, when the container is stacked on another similar container, said recessed parts of the container are able to abut against said annular flange of another similar container to prevent tight contact between the container and the another similar container.
 2. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said annular flange has an inclined surface portion directly connected to said surrounding wall and inclined downward and toward said receiving space.
 3. The container as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said recessed parts has a rounded outer shoulder surface protruding from said outer surface of said surrounding wall.
 4. The container as claimed in claim 3, wherein said annular flange further has a non-inclined portion extending outwardly from said inclined surface portion in a direction substantially parallel to said base wall, each of said recessed parts further having an upstanding wall portion that extends downwardly from said annular flange and that is perpendicular to said base wall, and a transverse wall portion that extends inwardly from a bottom end of said upstanding wall toward said receiving space and that is parallel to said base wall, said rounded outer shoulder surface being formed at an outer surface of said transverse wall portion.
 5. The container as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of reinforcement ribs extending upwardly from said base wall to said top open end of said surrounding wall.
 6. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said surrounding wall is inclined outwardly from said base wall to said annular flange.
 7. A stack of containers, comprising: a plurality of container bodies stacked one above the other, each of said container bodies including: a base wall; a surrounding wall that extends upwardly and is inclined outwardly from said base wall and that has a plurality of corners, said base wall and said surrounding wall cooperatively defining a receiving space; an annular flange extending around and projecting outwardly from a top open end of said surrounding wall distal from said base wall; and a plurality of recessed parts indented respectively from inner surfaces of said corners in proximity to said annular flange and protruding outwardly and respectively from outer surfaces of said corners; wherein said recessed parts of each of said container bodies are seated on said annular flange of a lower one of said container bodies to prevent each of said container bodies from contacting tightly the lower one of said container bodies.
 8. The stack of containers as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said recessed parts has an upstanding wall portion that extends downwardly from said annular flange and that is perpendicular to said base wall, and a transverse wall portion that extends inwardly from a bottom end of said upstanding wall toward said receiving space, said transverse wall portion being formed with a rounded outer shoulder surface protruding from said outer surface of said surrounding wall, said rounded outer shoulder surface of each of said container bodies being seated on said annular flange of the lower one of said container bodies.
 9. The stack of containers as claimed in claim 8, wherein said annular flange of each of said container bodies has an inclined surface portion directly connected to said surrounding wall and inclined downward and toward said receiving space to abut against said rounded outer shoulder surface of each of said recessed parts of an upper one of said container bodies.
 10. The stack of containers as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of said container bodies includes a plurality of reinforcement ribs extending upwardly from said base wall to said top open end of said surrounding wall. 